At Roadfly’s offices in Northern Virginia, just a few miles outside Washington, D.C., we greeted the arrival of the 2007 Toyota RAV4 with some excitement. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, our area was about to be hit by a winter storm that would paralyze the nation’s capital for a period of more than twenty-four hours. Secondly, the RAV4 is a special vehicle. Since the death of the excellent Celica GT-S, the RAV4 has become Toyota’s fastest-accelerating model in the U.S. market. That includes cars, trucks, and SUVs wearing the Toyota badge, but excludes Lexus models. So, our hopes were somewhat elevated when the RAV4 rolled into the parking lot of our quaint little office park.

If you’re reading a website about cars, we’ll assume you know already that Toyota’s products are renowned for their build quality, dependability, and easygoing, vanilla attitudes. So back in 2006, when this third-generation RAV4 hit U.S. shores with a big, honking 3.5-liter V6, our eyebrows went up. This V6, lifted from Toyota’s large Avalon sedan, makes 269hp @ 6200rpm and 246 lb.-ft. @ 4400 rpm. Those are pretty stout numbers, higher even than the 4.7L V8 in Toyota’s larger 4-Runner. 0-60 times for the RAV4 are being reported in the mid-six-second range, with quarter-mile times of less than fifteen seconds. That’s knocking on the doors of all manner of sporty cars, from six-cylinder BMWs to VTEC Hondas to turbo Volkswagens.

The third-generation RAV4 was introduced in 2006, and for one year had near-exclusive bragging rights in the cubic-inches department. Honda’s CR-V soldiers on with big-block Civic motors, and the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute twins offer 3.0L V6s but aren’t true head-to-head competitors to the RAV4 in our opinion. For 2007, Hyundai’s Santa Fe has caught up with a 3.3L V6, but they are the scrappy upstarts to Toyota’s sprawling empire. Toyota has been building sporty motors for longer than your humble correspondent has inhabited this plane of existence, and we were expecting big things.

As soon as our tester RAV4’s oil-temp needle was far enough from the C, we decided to test these expectations. The V6, equipped with Toyota’s VVT-i technology, is a real performer. From a dead stop, first gear is truly alarming until you get used to the prodigious amount of power lurking beneath your right foot. The RAV4 truly romps from a standing start, storming through the gears with stunning alacrity for a small, docile SUV. We suspect Toyota has given the RAV4 a short, aggressive first gear, since even partial-throttle inputs will send you scooting over quite a bit of ground.

However, it is possible to catch the RAV4 flat-footed. Sometimes putting your foot to the floor will result in the transmission immediately kicking down, and there you are leaving traffic in the dust. But other times, the transmission will just stick with whatever gear it’s already in, and you’ll have to wait patiently for those 269 horses to arrive.

This is not an insurmountable obstacle by any means, and we think Toyota is more than capable of addressing it. Better transmission mapping might help, or perhaps a six-speed auto. An option for a manual transmission would be lovely (but unlikely from Toyota), especially with a motor this sporty. But the easiest way to go would be to include a good manual-shift option for the existing tranny, which would make this little SUV a lot more fun to drive. We strongly recommend this option to Toyota, as it would greatly improve what is already a hell of a vehicle.

This is the first RAV4 not built on a Corolla chassis, and that is evident in many ways. Firstly, the handling is markedly different from previous iterations. The second-gen RAV4 felt like, well, a tall Corolla, and was endearingly frisky, even darty. A longer wheelbase makes the new model much more stable, but less tossable on highway onramps. Part of growing up, we surmise.

However, the longer wheelbase pays dividends in practical pursuits, like hauling stuff. The new RAV4 is almost two feet longer than the car it replaced, and there is now room for an optional third row. If you want to put adults back there, we’d suggest looking a little further up Toyota’s SUV lineup, but the seats are totally fine for kids.

The RAV4 swallows cargo adeptly and conveniently. Our tester came equipped with two bars in the cargo hold, joined together by a net. This is a great place to put groceries or any other medium-sized cargo. They wont move (much), and you’ll save yourself the embarrassment of actually having to bend over to retrieve them from the floor of the car.

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There are a host of other little features that make hauling easier, and they’re all reasonably intuitive. If you’ve got the rear hatch open, it’s an easy reach to pull one of two levers that make either side of the second row fall neatly. You can do the same thing with a similar lever located on the seats themselves. The second row of seats also reclines a tad, which we were not expecting of a vehicle in this price range.

On that note, the second row of the RAV4 is a pretty nice place to be. Legroom is freaking cavernous. Our big boss at Roadfly is literally quite big, at 6′3″ and a few shades north of 200 pounds, so we like to use him as a measuring stick for a car’s interior room. He was perfectly content in either the first or second row of the RAV4, with respect to both headroom and legroom. He often fumes about the cramped conditions of much larger cars than this RAV4, so we’ll go out on a limb and call it a success in the packaging department.

Our tester came well-equipped overall. We got the aforementioned cargo-hauling doodads, the big honking motor, and a moonroof that most buyers will find perfectly acceptable, although it lacks the gargantuan proportions and double-panes that are becoming the industry norm. We experienced a little bit of sticker shock, though. Our car was well-appointed but not luxurious, yet still carried a sticker of $28,033. For that price, the RAV4’s first row seemed a bit barren. Everything was well laid-out, and there were some cool features like the secondary glovebox that pops open and shut with the touch of a button. BMW’s X5 glovebox opens in similar fashion, but still requires a pair of hands to close it. We also liked the cupholders, and the two-stage armrest storage. But just a few more gimmicks would have eased our mind about the sticker.

That’s almost immaterial, though. The story here is under the hood (an obscene amount of power), and aft of the B-pillar (obscene amounts of space plus intuitive cargo solutions). The bottom line is that the RAV4 is an excellent all-weather hauler of people and things. And now, with the addition of a big-bore V6, it hauls ass, too.

No car company has taken bigger strides over the past decade than Hyundai. Formerly a manufacturer of small, dowdy cars that were both uninspiring and uncertain, the Korean automaker has transformed itself into a powerhouse, a paragon of reliability and value.

Hyundai is still establishing itself, and its models have been finding their respective niches by the seats of their pants, often being redesigned or renamed after just a year or two on the market. Hyundai’s Santa Fe SUV has been around since 2001, but has seen its mission statement substantially redefined for 2007.

The first-generation Santa Fe competed with Honda’s CR-V and Toyota’s RAV4, but couldn’t match those two established cute-utes in terms of interior appointments and refinement. Its dash and cabin were boring, and the styling was…well, hardly cute at all. Its saving grace was that it offered a V6 (first a 2.7, later a 3.5) against its competitors’ inline-fours, and it was cheap.

However, the 2007 Santa Fe has left the past in the dust. It sports styling in line with its mainstream Japanese competition, and takes some cues from some more unorthodox vehicles as well. From the rear, it resembles Subaru’s daring B9 Tribeca, and its front grille, mounted flush with the top edges of its angled headlamps, is strongly evocative of Saab’s cool 9-7x. It has a new 3.3L V6, and its interior no longer resembles that of a Korean airport shuttle. And most importantly, it’s bigger.

How much bigger, you ask? The new Santa Fe is around seven inches longer than the outgoing model, one inch wider and almost two inches taller. It has increased its track by 2.9 inches. Hyundai’s press site proudly contrasts this measurement with those of the Toyota Highlander and Ford Explorer, which is one of many indicators that the Santa Fe is no longer just hunting small-SUV game.

Hyundai’s website offers a comparison feature, so potential buyers can pit the Santa Fe (in somewhat limited categories) against as many as three other vehicles. You can choose most any vehicle you want, even a Lamborghini, but Hyundai already has three picked out for you: the Honda Pilot, and the Highlander and RAV4 from Toyota. This is quite interesting indeed, since the RAV4 and Highlander are two different class of SUV. Hyundai is trying to lure potential buyers of both vehicles into the Santa Fe fold – away from the Highlander with cost, and away from the RAV4 with size and features.

The new Santa Fe’s larger size has made room for an optional third row of seats. Our tester, a top-of-the-line 2wd Limited model, did not come so equipped, and we are therefore reserving judgment on how well Hyundai has executed the additional row. It’s split 50/50 and does fold totally flat, increasing the practical appeal of this particular check-box on the options list. However, from all the Santa Fes we’ve looked at and sat in, it looks a little tight back there. There is a standard feature to make ingress and egress easier through the second row, but it just doesn’t look like there’s enough legroom for anyone but small children. And that may be fine for the majority of Sante Fe buyers.

The rest of our Santa Fe’s cabin was inviting and roomy. The car’s 60/40 split second row seats recline independently of each other, and like the third row they fold completely flat to make cargo hauling easy. The second row has a folding armrest, and the front passenger’s seat can be ordered with full-power adjustability – things not offered in comparable trim levels of the Pilot, Highlander, or RAV4.

The new Santa Fe drew rave reviews from the Roadfly staff for its interior appointments. Surfaces, while they acknowledged their plastic DNA, aren’t cheap-looking. And the finish of the wood veneer is superior to that in some luxury vehicles we’ve tested. The gauges glow fluorescent blue at night, as do the separate screens for the clock, audio system, and dual-zone HVAC (which blows through wonderfully massive vents in the center console). It all adds up to a reassuringly high-tech atmosphere when you’re whizzing along at night.

The Santa Fe offers two engine choices for 2007. GLS models are equipped with a 2.7-liter V6 making 185 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 183 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm, while SE and Limited models like our tester get an all-new 3.3-liter V6 making 242 hp at 6,000 rpm and 226 lb.-ft. at 4,500 rpm. The 3.3L unit replaces last year’s 3.5, and makes 42 more horsepower despite having a smaller displacement. Our Santa Fe got the bigger motor, and although it’s no sports car, it’s miles ahead of the old model, and on par with the power outputs of the Pilot, Highlander and RAV4.

True to Hyundai form, our tester had a ton of standard equipment. The only cost-added option was a set of carpeted floor mats, at a measly 95 bucks. Stability and traction control, front and side airbags all around, active head restraints, and a tire pressure monitor were the most notable safety features. Leather is standard on the Limited, as are little lifesavers like de-icers for the rear windshield wiper and an AutoMirror equipped with Homelink.

By now we all know that Hyundai can offer a litany of features at a bargain-basement price, just as its Japanese targets did in the 1980’s. But we were still surprised at what a bargain our Santa Fe presented. At $26,040, the Santa Fe undercut our tester RAV4 by two grand.

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It’s not an entirely fair comparison, as the RAV4 came with 4WD and a moonroof, things the Santa Fe offers but were not included on our tester. But, we think it’s significant that the larger, more luxurious Santa Fe can still come out much cheaper than even the lesser of the two Toyota SUVs it has taken aim at. When we tested the RAV4, we lamented its lack of interior furnishings. There was no leather, and a very small amount of creature comforts. Our Santa Fe had a power-adjustable seat, and stereo controls on a steering wheel that tilted and telescoped – all stuff the RAV4 lacked. The interior of the Santa Fe also had more panache, expressed in small things like the texture of the stereo buttons, or the uniformity of the space-age blue displays.

Overall, the Hyundai Santa Fe is, well, a Hyundai. In today’s automotive market, that means a tremendous bang for the buck, a superlative warranty to ease the mind, and a list of features that makes you shake your head in amazement. For 2007, the Santa Fe has added style, performance, and versatility to its list of charms. If you’re on a budget, or just want something a little different from the fleet of Pilots, Highlanders and RAV4s that dot suburbia these days, this is the SUV for you.

The all new Cadillac Escalade has gotten bigger, badder, and more refined for 2007. Sporting 22-inch chrome rims and surprisingly tasteful chrome accents, the Escalade manages to look classy as well as brawny. A new flush-mounted grill and a blinding assembly of LEDs in back give the new Escalade a sparkly, futuristic look.

That look is backed up by an array of automated features. The coolest among them is the liftgate that opens or closes with one touch of a button. That motif continues throughout, with power folding mirrors and power retractable running boards (a $1,095 option). The hood must be manually unlatched, but springs upward quite softly.

There you’ll find Cadillac’s impressive new Vortec V8, a 6.2-litre unit that develops 403 hp at 5,700 rpm and 417 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. That’s just a silly amount of power, even exceeding the peak output of GM’s flagship sportscar – the Chevy Corvette. The new motor has an aluminum block, and is the first pushrod engine to use variable valve timing on both its intake and exhaust valves. I must mention emphatically that the Escalade’s new motor is intoxicating. It moves this near-3-ton all-wheel-drive truck with aplomb, and I found myself turning the stereo off just to hear the burbling and roaring of what is truly a world-class motor. The Escalade will reach 60mph in just 6.4 seconds (confirmed with our G-Tech), and the quarter-mile comes in 15.1 seconds with a trap speed of 95mph.

This is all well and good in the area of performance, but for fuel economy, well…our Escalade got about 12.5 mpg in the suburbs of Washington, DC. I think that GM’s now-excellent cylinder-deactivation feature would work well here, but I concede that folks buying a truck that costs almost 70 grand are probably not going to lose much sleep over fuel costs. As a small consolation, GM’s press site says that premium gas is “recommended but not required” for this behemoth.

The Escalade’s new transmission has six speeds, two more than last year’s truck and long overdue. First gear is very aggressive, yet the Escalade is content to putt around at just 1500 rpm while cruising at 60 mph. Towing capacity is good, at 7,500 lbs. AWD? You might now be asking yourself why the Escalade doesn’t come with a bona fide 4WD system with manual adjustability and locking center differentials. Well…the answer lies simply in the amount of Escalades that go off-road with any regularity. I’d bet less than 1%, but I doubt there will be any takers. The AWD system adds to confident driving in the dry while adding safety when the weather turns ugly. Often used as a family hauler AWD is a big plus for me.

I may not always agree with GM’s choices and styling (axing the Camaro/Firebird, producing the Aztek and the SSR), but where the Escalade is concerned they have my full support. They know just what Escalade owners will do (towing, hauling families or entourages) and won’t do (off-roading, wearing muddy shoes) with their trucks, and have planned accordingly.

One thing GM has certainly been doing is customizing their wheel and tire packages. The Escalade is a favored ride of rap stars and professional athletes, and it is perhaps for this reason alone that it has been head-and-shoulders above its competitors, both foreign and domestic. However, “up-sizing” your car’s wheels and tires can have seriously detrimental effects on both ride and handling. These problems are magnified considerably on SUVs and trucks, so for 2007 Cadillac wisely offers an optional set of 22-inch chrome rims, designed especially for the Escalade to minimize any degradation of handling or ride comfort. Our tester came so equipped, and it would be hard to imagine rolling around on anything less. It’s a pricey option at $2,995, but I think it’s worth it if you’re even thinking about taking your new Caddy to the local wheel shop.

Our Escalade also came with something Cadillac calls the “information package,” a $2,695 collection of useful items. Included is the DVD-based navigation system, which includes “two map disc upgrades.” I assume this means that the first and second time your navi DVDs get outdated, it’s on the house. That’s a pretty thoughtful gesture on Cadillac’s part, and one that I’d greatly appreciate if I actually owned this betty.

Also included in the info package is a rear view camera, which is fast becoming the standard in vehicles of this size. Unfortunately for Cadillac, that means that it’s no longer enough to just have one. The better systems’ displays have indicators for both path and distance, which the Escalade’s system lacks. However, it does have enough visual cues to avoid disaster, and there are lights in the D-pillar to indicate distance while one is backing up and looking out the rear of the truck.

Another “pricey-but-worth-it” option is the rear-seat entertainment system. Since the majority of Escalade buyers will have either a family or an entourage with them frequently, it may be well worth the $1,895 to keep them happy. It works very well combined with the front-seat system, or under its own control. I’m still waiting for a rear A/V system which is easy to setup. Getting rear headphones working independent of the main speakers while using different A/V sources is a feat no manufacturer has managed to accomplish.

The rest of the interior came in for rave reviews all around. Aside from minor complaints like “not enough front cupholders”, or “volume controls on the wrong side of the steering wheel”, the cabin of the Escalade is a very comfortable place to spend great lengths of time.

The color schemes are tasteful, which used to be an odd word in an article about an Escalade. But it’s true. There are two choices: Ebony throughout, or “Cocoa on Cashmere,” which is tan leather with darker brown accents throughout, on the steering wheel for example. They are both handsome and inviting, and I think this is a good time to mention that the Escalade’s interior is now virtually indistinguishable from that of a serious luxury car. This truck’s dashboard, door panels and seating surfaces are on par with any road car as far as look and feel.

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The cabin also offers a neat array of seating options. The second and third rows can each be ordered with two captain’s chairs, or with a conventional three-place bench seat. Our tester came with two rows of captain’s chairs, which I suspect will be a popular configuration. Although it cuts overall seating capacity down to six (from a possible eight with bench seats), the all-captain setup allows for greater comfort and individuality for each passenger. It also allows for easy step-through access between rows two and three, which was most appreciated by our younger passengers.

You probably know that the Escalade rides on the same platform as the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon (and all of their variants), so I’ll spare you the technical details and simply say that Cadillac has done the same thing with the Escalade’s driving dynamics as it did with the car’s design – that is to give this luxo-barge its own identity. It handles exceptionally well considering it weighs three tons; the brakes are vastly improved compared with past Escalades; and the turning radius is fantastic. At 3 full turns lock-to-lock, it’s as easy to parallel-park as most sports cars. Well, provided the spot is big enough.

The first-generation Escalade was a GMC Yukon with a few extra square feet of leather, and the second-generation was a little better but not by much. This third Escalade is miles ahead of its predecessors, with an identity all its own. The silhouette of the Escalade is still “Big GM SUV,” but the face, engine, suspension tuning, and cabin are all unmistakably Cadillac.

Prices for the 2007 Escalade are about the only thing that hasn’t shot through the roof. Starting rather modestly at $56,405 for the standard AWD model, you can hit $70K pretty quickly if you take our advice on how to outfit the thing.

All in all, the newest Escalade is a tour de force. It will continue to rule the roost in its segment, which according to GM’s media site consists of the Lincoln Navigator, Lexus LX 470, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, and Infiniti QX56 – at least where GM’s target audience is concerned. However, for more ‘unconventional’ Escalade buyers – those with crews rather than families, and a yen to be noticed – this truck competes with just about everything under the sun. It’s not a truck; but an icon, a barometer of just how much the image of “rollin’ on dubs” has permeated America. A tech-oriented website called the Escalade “a bling fortress,” which is just about the best phrase I’ve yet seen to describe this megalith.

Folks, we just posted a second video from the MINI Press Launch in Scottsdale. This video is footage of the car on the autocross course, road course as well as the Firebird Raceway dragstrip.

Guess which car is faster through the 1/4 mile; is it the 6 Speed Manual or 6 Speed Steptronic Automatic? Watch the video and see for yourself.

You can post your comments on the 1st, the original and the largest MINI Cooper Forum.

Link to video of New 2007 MINI Cooper S on track

The MINI Cooper is all-new for 2007, but you’ll need a microscope and a fine-toothed comb to find out what’s been changed. Fortunately for the MINI faithful, parent company BMW decided to preserve the car’s classic appearance and leave its character essentially the same.

Iconic cult cars like the MINI live in constant peril, one executive goof away from losing all that makes them special. Many a classic car’s quirky appeal has been sacrificed on the altar of luring a few Consumer Reports readers into the fold with promises of ’something for everyone.’ Luckily, BMW is one of the car industry’s great iconoclasts, so the MINI has soldiered on through its first redesign without a hint of dilution.

This re-working is the essence of “evolution, not revolution.” So we’ll start on the outside. 2007 brings a slight increase in the MINI’s dimensions. It is almost 2.5 inches longer, and the beltline has risen slightly. The front of the MINI has been substantially but subtly revised, with turn signals integrated into the headlight assembly, and the headlights themselves moved towards the corners of the car.

The interior has also been subtly refined. BMW’s first MINI was no slouch in the area of appointments, but the new model benefits from higher-quality seat leather, as well as a generally higher standard for switches and surfaces. For such a small car, headroom and legroom are outstanding even for drivers standing six feet and above. This is mostly due to the new center console, which has been slimmed down substantially, making the footwells roomier.

Most of the quirks from last year’s interior have been retained, like the ubiquitous toggle switches and the huge, round, center-mounted speedometer. It’s hard to visualize this if you haven’t seen it with your own two eyes, but the speedometer’s face actually houses the screen for the optional navigation system.

Now, to the really big changes. Both standard and S models get new engines and transmissions. The old Chrysler-derived motors positively wheezed in comparison to the new mills, developed with the help of experienced small-car maker Peugeot/Citroen. The base 1.6 makes 118 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 3 and 8 respectively. The S motor now makes 175 hp, 5 more than last year, and the power peak has been lowered to 5,500rpm from 6,000. But the motor is now turbocharged rather than supercharged, which is the riskiest change BMW has made to this car.

Superchargers provide healthy boosts in both power and torque, but they rob power from the motor itself in order to run. Turbochargers are much more efficient, but can get peaky as power output climbs. To prevent this, and to make the turbocharged engine ‘feel’ similar to the old blown unit, BMW used a twin-scroll turbo. It’s certainly not peaky, with peak torque of 177 lb-ft (up from 162) arriving at just 1,600 rpm and staying constant until 5,000 rpm.

We expect the new MINI, particularly the S model, will become a tuner favorite. Cars with original-equipment turbos are fabulously easy to tune (think VW’s 1.8/2.0T or Mitsubishi’s 4G63 from the Eclipse and Lancer Evo), while supercharged motors are much more finicky and limited.

The CVT transmission is gone, as is the five-speed automatic. All MINIs get six-speed manuals to start. A six-speed Steptronic auto is optional, and is equipped with paddle shifters mounted on the steering column.

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All this progress under the hood produced some interesting results at our first drive at Arizona’s Firebird Raceway. Our fleet of MINI Cooper S models made a full afternoon of dragstrip passes at the hands of professional racers as well as journalists. We were shocked to see that the Steptronics edged out the manuals by a small but significant margin, on nearly every pass. The best 1/4-mile time for a manual was 14.90, while the automatic pulled off a 14.77.

Handling is still superb, and we’d be surprised if the new car doesn’t make short work of the old car’s autocross records. The new MINI is also more stable and civil than its predecessor, and is now just as happy on a long trip as it is on a twisty mountain road.

BMW has refined the MINI Cooper without sacrificing a bit of its charm, or its telepathic communication with its driver. We expect that the legions of MINI fans, who are probably the most diverse group of fans in the world of car enthusiasts, will buy this little thing in droves. And that will be a valuable lesson indeed to car companies everywhere: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Discuss the all new 2007 MINI Cooper in the forums: MINI Cooper Forums

You can also watch the 2007 MINI Cooper Car Review Video at YouTube.

Track Video Clip: Video Clip of New MINI Cooper at Firebird Raceway & Dragstrip

Video of the all new turbo-charged 2007 MINI Cooper S driving in the mountains of Arizona. There’s also a little footage of the new MINI on the dragstrip at Firebird Raceway. Stay tuned for more track video of this updated go kart.

Video car review of the all new 2007 MINI Cooper S:

And the best selling vehicle in America is (drum roll, envelope please):

The Ford F-Series Pickup Truck!

This is a refrain that’s almost become automatic over the years, as Ford’s F-Series pickups have been the best selling vehicles in America for a number of years, and the best selling trucks in America for the past 30. An incredible 796,039 F-Series trucks were sold in 2006.

Chevy’s Silverado has come close (about 636,000 sold in 2006), but has not been able to knock the King Ford off of its lofty pedestal. Dodge’s Ram has a following, as does Nissan’s Titan. The sales numbers for both pale in comparison to the F-Series.

And then we have the Toyota Tundra, on a mission to capture the top slot, or at least become a major player in the pickup market.

At a recent press launch in Charlotte, North Carolina, I had the opportunity to test the mettle of Toyota’s latest battle weapon, the all-new 2007 Tundra.

Toyota’s been at the pickup game for a number of years now. Their first entry into “large” pickup market was the smallish T-100. Without the size or power needed to pass muster, and with lackluster crash test results, the T-100 only lasted a few model years before the first Tundra was released in 2000. Still undersized and underpowered, the Tundra was nonetheless a competitor, as folks enamored with Toyota’s legendary quality overlooked some of Tundra’s faults and shortcomings.

But now the battle is truly on. Tundra is no longer undersized, underpowered, or lacking in the features that pickup drivers want whether on a construction site or on the links.

The Tundra is available in several versions: Regular Cab, Double Cab, or Crew Cab (dubbed “CrewMax”). Bed sizes range from 66.7″ to 97.6″. Rear wheel drive or four-wheel drive, V6 or V8 engines, and DX, SR5 and Limited trim levels mean shoppers will have many choices to get their Tundra just the way they want it.

Cab choices also affect the style of Tundra. For me, the CrewMax is my favorite. I like the long box surrounded by Tundra’s curved front and rear fenders. It’s a unique look in a market dominated by squarish, boxy designs. For some journalists I talked to though, the rear taillight integration into the rear fenders was a weak point. One thought it softened an otherwise tough look, another pointed out that the position of the lights on the outside flanks of the fenders made them more susceptible to damage. I agree with the second point, but find no other faults with Tundra’s design, which I find refreshing.

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Front end styling is also polarizing. I like the rugged, ready-to-do-business look. Others thought the huge chrome grille was excessive. One only needs to briefly look around to see “excessive” works well in this segment.

So how does Tundra work on the roadways? Very well indeed. Do opt for one of the V8 engines (4.7 or 5.7-liter), which push this two-ton plus (depending on cab size) behemoth with authority. I tested the V6 Regular Cab as well, and upon hard acceleration, I mostly got a lot of engine noise and not a lot of thrust.

These engines are linked to either a 4X2 or 4X4 drivetrain. Toyota’s “TRD” Off-Road package is available on 4X2 and 4X4 models. According to Toyota’s data, the new Tundra claims a “Best in 1/2 Ton Class” towing capacity. The 4X2 Regular Cab with the 381 horsepower, 5.7-liter V8 can tow 10,800 pounds. Max payload for the same configuration is also a claimed class leading 2,060 pounds. Towing demonstrations at the press launch confirmed this Tundra is a super hauler. Ford’s F-150 also claims best in class towing and payload, with ratings of 11,000 pounds towing and 3,050 pounds payload for light-duty models.

Toyota has also taken steps to ensure that towing places no undue stress on this workhorse. Tundra incorporates an automatic transmission cooler and warmer. The warmer allows fluid to quickly warm up to proper operating temps in cold weather conditions. An overall 10% increase in total engine cooling capacity (versus the previous model) and up to 25% more alternator output mean placing heavy loads on this drivetrain won’t translate into heavy loads on your wallet for stress-related repair bills.

Inside, the new Tundra combines function, comfort and utility. Take for example the center console. It’s big enough to hold a laptop computer, and has rails built in for hanging folders. It’s a contractor’s “office on wheels” dream truck. Door handles and control knobs are designed to work even while wearing work gloves. Tundra’s cockpit provides two 12 volt power outlets, with an additional rear console outlet on CrewMax models. In addition to the 9.5 liter center console, Tundra’s storage areas include a 3.4-liter upper glovebox, door pockets that hold 22 ounce bottles, and a built-in toolbox behind the rear seat of all models that provides easy access to the jack and lug wrench. Four different interior colors and available deep-grain leathers round out the comfort equation. An optional moonroof gives the spacious interior and even larger feel.

Tundra has also taken the interior upscale with many standard luxury features. A tilt and telescoping steering wheel (manual or power depending on trim), heated power front seats, an overhead console, multi-function information center, auto-dimming side mirrors with chrome accents, and AM/FM/CD with MP3 jack are standard equipment. Significant options include a 440 Watt 5.1 surround system, Bluetooth capability, steering wheel audio controls, and a rear seat entertainment system. An available DVD navigation system includes a JBL audio system and integrates a rear backup camera. The rear camera can be a miracle worker when trying to align a trailer or position a boat on a launch ramp.

Tundra is backed by a 36-month/36,000 mile basic warranty. Additional warranties cover the powertrain for 60 months/60,000 miles and provide comprehensive rust protection. The new Tundra was developed and designed, and is built in America. An all-new dedicated production plant in the heart of pickup country (San Antonio, Texas) joins an existing plant in Indiana for Tundra production.

Tundra pricing starts at $22,900 for the Regular Cab, to $29,675 for the CrewMax.

So does this all-new Tundra stack up to the competition? Yes it does. It’s a competent blend of worksite toughness, and on road comfort. And with competitive base pricing, Ford, Chevy and Dodge should keep their eyes peeled to their rear-view mirrors, as Tundra is bearing down on them quickly.

I’ve just posted a bunch more photos from our first drive of the all new 2007 MINI Cooper Hardtop. We drove both the regular Cooper with the 1.6L normally aspirated engine and the Cooper S with the 1.6L turbocharged engine.

Here is a link to the photo gallery with 60+ new pictures of the MINI Cooper from our drive around the deserts of Arizona. There are also photos from Firebird International Raceway where we were able to drive on the dragstrip, an autocross course, and the road course.

Click the photos to see a larger view of the photo in the photo gallery.

Until recently Mazda customers have had to look elsewhere to have their Crossover or SUV needs met. Mazda unveiled their mid-sized CX-7 crossover about a year ago. And, last month Mazda launched their largest vehicle yet, the all new CX-9 Crossover. The CX-9 offers a blend of Mazda, sporty heritage with a very well thought out third-row seat.

The CX-9 was designed from the ground up to be a competitor to large, family-oriented crossover SUVs like the Honda Pilot and Toyota Highlander. It’s long enough to fit a third row of seats, a feat the CX-7 cannot accomplish. It’s also almost a foot longer than either the Pilot or the CX-7, at 199.8 inches. It’s wider and taller than the CX-7 too, by 2.5 and 3.5 inches, respectively.

With added dimensions comes added weight – the CX-9’s curb weight ranges from 4300 to 6,050 lbs! So the CX-9 had to be beefier all-around than the CX-7, which shares much of its architecture with the Mazda 3- and 5-series hatchbacks. For the CX-9, Mazda engineers started with architectural cues from the CX-7 and then applied dimensional and functional changes borrowed from within Mazda when possible. The rear suspension, for example is derived from the Mazda6.

The 6’s handling capabilities are well-known, and have been passed on to the CX-9 without much dilution. The CX-9 handles better than any minivan, and better than any SUV short of high-dollar exotics like the Porsche Cayenne or BMW X5. Despite its large dimensions and considerable heft, it shrinks at speed, and one rarely feels the body roll intrinsic to vehicles of this size.

To move the CX-9’s considerable bulk around, the 6’s sporty, high-revving motor simply would not suffice. So the CX-9 has been fitted with a new 3.5 V6, making 263hp at 6250 rpm and 249 pound-feet of torque at 4500 rpm. The CX-9 is not startlingly quick in the eyes of the clock, chuffing to 60 mph in anywhere between eight and ten seconds. This may sound imprecise, but the CX-9’s weight can vary by nearly a ton, depending on the options fitted to it and whether it has the optional all-wheel-drive.

Numbers aside, the CX-9’s new V6 has been garnering a lot of praise around the automotive press, and with good reason. It’s exceptionally smooth, and makes all the right sounds. It’s mated to the same excellent 6-speed automatic found in the CX-7, although things like the final drive ratio have been changed to compensate for the added weight. One of the most impressive things about the new CX-9 is the excellent job the engineers have done matching engine torque and RPMs to transmission shift points. Shifts are smooth, quick and always seem to occur exactly where you want them.

The interior is uber-roomy, offering 17.5 cubic feet of cargo room with the third row in place. With the third row folded (an easy task), that space grows by an even 30 cubes. We should mention that the CX-9’s second row doesn’t mess around either – in a nod to its family-hauler intentions, the entire row can be easily stowed with one hand, leaving the other free to hold leashed pets or children, cell phones, or lattes. Both rows are split, as well – 50/50 for the third row, and 60/40 for the second, bolstering the CX-9’s claim to cargo-carrying hegemony.

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We at Roadfly think the CX-9 will sell quite well indeed. There aren’t many vehicles like it on the market, and it’s pushed the envelope of versatility to extremes deemed impossible just a few years ago. The only utility vehicles we’ve seen that can match the CX-9’s blend of dynamics, practicality, and style are Teutonic bruisers – Audi’s Q7, BMW’s X5, Porsche’s Cayenne – that can cost twice as much and beyond. The Mazda’s price tag ranges from $29,035 for the front-wheel-drive ’sport’ model to $33,875 for the all-wheel-drive ‘Grand Touring.’ If you’ve got to haul a family, but can’t stomach the dowdiness of a minivan or the excess of an SUV, put the Mazda CX-9 on your short list.

I just posted about 125 photos of the new 2007 MINI Cooper, Cooper Convertible and Sidewalk to the Roadfly “First Drives” Photo Album.

I’ll be driving the new 2007 MINIs tomorrow at Firebird Raceway and around the hills of Scottsdale, AZ afterwhich I’ll post initial comments.

Check back in a week or so for a longer review as well as a video of the new MINI.

Browse the 2007 MINI Cooper Pictures here:

This thumb goes to the parent album.

This thumb goes to the 2007 MINI Cooper Hardtops album:

This thumb goes to the 2007 MINI Cooper Convertibles album:

This thumb goes to the MINI Cooper Convertible Sidewalk album:

Toyota has historically been one of the few manufacturers bold enough to offer a true subcompact car in the United States. Companies from Japan and Germany turned their noses up at the idea of bringing a true small car to market here, adhering to the conventional wisdom that Americans like everything huge and excessive, and will not buy anything small and restrained. Witness Detroit’s half-hearted commitment even to its compact cars, and you get the idea.

Well, it’s their loss. Toyota has been filling that niche for years, first with the Tercel, then the Echo, and now with the Yaris. Other manufacturers have finally seen the light, with Honda’s Fit and Nissan’s Versa entering the market in the last 12 months, and DaimlerChrysler’s SmartCar on the horizon. But Toyota has been at this game for a while, and has finally produced a world-beating subcompact.

The Yaris is actually not a new name – in Europe, the car we knew as the Echo wore the Yaris nameplate. Problem is, the Echo wasn’t a very exciting car. It boasted one of the best turning radiuses in history, but it was heavy on the economy and light on just about everything else. The Yaris has changed all of that. It offers two body styles–a hatchback and a sedan–each with their own personality and a long list of features.

This may sound insignificant, but two different design chiefs in two totally different places designed the two cars. The hatchback was designed in Europe, the sedan in Japan. As such, they really do serve different purposes. The hatch will be the better bet for urban buyers concerned about parallel parking and agility in traffic, while the sedan might be suitable for those who routinely carry more than two people (perhaps even a family).

Toyota sent us a sedan, the “S” variant to be exact. It was finished in Barcelona Red, a nice metallic tone that gave the car a more up-market look. Exterior features particular to the S model included a front and rear underbody spoilers, side rocker panels, and “S” badges. S models also get standard 15″ steelies with wheel covers, as opposed to the 14-inchers on the regular sedan. Ours, however, was equipped with a package that included 15″ alloy wheels, so it really looked rather handsome. If that’s not enough bling for you, Toyota’s web site lists 18″ alloys by TRD (Toyotas Racing Development) on the Yaris accessories page.

Inside, the standard audio system for the S has a CD player with MP3 capability and an auxiliary jack for an iPod or something equivalent. The driver’s seat adjusts for height, and the rear seat splits 60/40 and folds down.

One touch that is a bit polarizing is the center-mounted speedometer and tachometer. We found the visibility excellent once we got used to glancing at the middle of the car instead of through the spokes of the steering wheel. This feature is used on some sportier cars, such as the Mini Cooper, so it’s not exactly a fringe design element.

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All Prius models get air conditioning as a standard option. This surprised us a little bit, because frankly there are some folks who might forgo it in order to boost fuel economy and lower the purchase price of the car. But it’s not that expensive as is, so we won’t complain.

Considering that the Yaris is a small compact car (read: economy), it moves pretty well. It has a 1.5L inline-four (identical to the motors found in the Scion twins, the xA and xB) that makes 106 horsepower at 6000rpm and 103 lb.-ft. of torque at 4000rpm. That might not sound like a lot, but our Yaris had a curb weight of just 2288 lbs. So while it’s not going to light you on fire with startling performance, you won’t be banging on the dash to make it go faster, either.

Low weight pays another dividend here, and that’s fuel economy. Our S came with an EPA estimate of 34mpg city and 40mpg highway, which is outstanding. Annual fuel cost is estimated at $891.

One disclaimer is that our Yaris came with a 5-speed manual, which allows the driver to wring the most out of a smaller motor. The four-speed automatic is likely to sap some much-needed power (and fuel efficiency) from the little Yaris’ four-banger, so choose your transmission carefully.

The Yaris uses a standard suspension for this class, with McPherson struts up front and a Torsion beam in the rear. The front brakes are ventilated discs, with drums in back. With not much weight to haul around, this system works just fine.

The Yaris S carries a starting MSRP of just $13,525, according to Toyota’s web site. Our tester had a long list of options, foremost among them being a $1,350 “power package”, which included the 15″ alloy wheels, ABS, power door locks/windows/outside mirrors, an LCD display upgrade for the stereo, cruise control, and upgraded interior trim.

We also got an upgraded airbag system ($650), which adds seat-mounted side airbags for the driver and front passenger, and side curtain airbags all around. Other options were a keyless entry system ($230), fog lamps ($110), carpeted floor mats & cargo net ($150), and a rear spoiler with an LED brake light ($435). The bottom line, including $580 for processing and handling, was $16,830. Not too bad for a fully loaded sedan from the world’s hottest automaker.

The Toyota Prius is the future. This may sound like an odd statement regarding a car that’s been on the worldwide market since the year 2000, but spend a little time with this hybrid machine and you’ll understand why.

The Prius was redesigned for 2004, and became a mid-size car as opposed to the 2000-2003, which was classified as a compact car. Dimensions went up, as did curb weight. The Prius also received a body style more appropriate to its mission as a sophisticated, fuel-sipping jellybean on wheels. The five-door hatchback body is more aerodynamic, and the singular silhouette makes the Prius stand out as a paragon of forward thinking. This distinctive style is what makes the Prius the nation’s best-selling hybrid car, despite the presence of worthy competitors from Honda.

Environmentally conscious buyers want to be reminded that they are buying a hybrid, and since such a vehicle is a statement of environmental consciousness in itself, they also want the car to be instantly recognizable as a hybrid. Honda’s Insight is recognizable to be sure, but is too small and too space-age for mainstream buyers. The Civic hybrid sedan is just as practical as its non-hybrid siblings, but isn’t visually differentiated enough. Cue the Prius, with its distinctive looks and practicality rivaling any hatchback.

In terms of size, the Prius stands above Toyota’s Corolla sedan in the automaker’s lineup, and the interior is cavernous. Four six-foot adults have no problem fitting into the Prius, and we actually crammed six people in on one occasion.

The interior of the Prius is a nice place to spend time. It’s a bit Spartan, since a ton of luxury features would inflate the Prius’ curb weight (along with its price tag) and bring fuel economy down. Still, though, there is enough equipment to get you through the day. Our tester Prius, like all Toyotas, came well-equipped, and serves its options in packages rather than a la carte. In our case, option package #3 gave us a nine-speaker audio system with a 6-disc CD changer, an auxiliary audio input, WMA/MP3 playback capability, satellite radio capability, and Bluetooth.

The package also included vehicle stability control, a smart-key system, an anti-theft system, and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror equipped with Homelink. The coolest single feature, however, was the backup camera. We’ve tested this feature in other Toyota vehicles like the full-size Tundra pickup, and we must say Toyota’s camera is among the industry’s best. Not that the Prius needs it, since rearward visibility is excellent, but it does help.

That excellent rearward visibility is due to a wonderful feature pioneered on Honda’s CRX – a smoked-out section of the tailgate under the rear spoiler, which appears black and opaque from the outside, but from the inside offers increased visibility of what’s behind you.

Cool features abound inside the Prius. One of our favorites was the shifter, which is located just to the right of the steering column. It has a tiny, ergonomic lever, and has only three positions – Reverse, Neutral, and Drive. “Park” is activated by pressing a button above the shifter, much the same as in BMW’s new X5.

The Prius’ audio controls are covered in a black lacquer, similar to the material used on the console of the new Tundra, for a very futuristic look. The Prius lacks a gauge cluster on the driver’s side, and vital information is displayed in either a blacked-out display where the dashboard meets the windshield (vehicle speed, gear selection), or on the Prius’ LCD screen. This LCD screen displays the Prius’ energy monitor and fuel consumption, as well as the controls for the climate control and audio system. On Priuses like our tester equipped with the backup camera, sliding the shifter into reverse changes the LCD into the viewfinder for the camera.

All this aside, the real story with the Prius is not its styling or features, but rather the technological wizardry that allows it to achieve such high mileage. Our tester came with an EPA rating of 60mpg city/51mpg highway. Yes, you read it right – higher mileage in the city than on the highway, which is the exact reverse of how basically any car on the road will return miles-per-gallon figures.

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Normally, highway driving uses less fuel, since the loads on the engine are lighter. Stop-and-go traffic is worse, from a fuel-economy standpoint, than cruising on the highway, even at high speed. The Prius uses what Toyota calls an IMA – “Integrated Motor Assist,” for the uninitiated. There is an electric motor, in addition to the 1.5L inline-four engine with Toyota’s variable valve timing (VVT-i). The electric motor is used for low-speed driving, and the gas engine kicks in at higher speeds.

There are a couple of neat things about this system. The first is that the electric motor produces a hell of a lot of torque – 295 lb.-ft., to be exact. And it produces all 295 at 0 rpm. Talk about low-end response! Our Prius scooted off the line pretty darn well, and is never found wanting for power around town.

The second is that the Prius employs something called “regenerative braking.” That means that heat normally lost in the braking process gets converted into energy, for the purposes of recharging the Prius’ electric motor. Efficiency is the name of the game here.

The transmission fits into this equation quite well. Toyota has elected to use a continually variable transmission (CVT), which is a good fit for this car, given the CVT’s reputation for excellent fuel economy. There are no gears in the traditional sense of four or five speeds, but rather a dizzying number of ratios. The transmission is constantly adjusting to give the driver the best acceleration and the best fuel economy. Neither power nor fuel are wasted between shifts, simply because there aren’t any.

All of this means that the Prius is truly in its element in the city. Roadfly is based in the Washington, DC metro area, which is known for its snarling traffic and frustratingly low speeds – in other words, the perfect place for a hybrid vehicle with a focus on urban fuel economy. For the most part, we hardly used the gas engine, which makes 76 horsepower and 82 lb.-ft. of torque.

A cool byproduct of this is that the Prius is extraordinarily quiet. The electric motor hardly makes any sound, so bopping around at less than 40mph involves very small noise levels.

On the highway, the Prius is competent, but not nearly as exceptional as it is in the city. Maximum acceleration is just adequate, and the low-resistance tires that maximize fuel economy are not conducive to high-speed handling. But that’s not what you buy this car for. On the plus side, however, many states (including Virginia) will allow a single Prius driver access to their HOV lanes. So from a commuting standpoint, the Prius is a strong contender.

Given that the Prius is now a mid-size car, the price tag is pretty reasonable. Our tester had an MSRP of $22,175, with an as-tested price of $25,598. Package #3 with all its electronic wizardry accounted for most of the difference, at $2,555. We also had carpeted mats for the floor and cargo area ($199) and a cargo net ($49). It’s more expensive than a Corolla, but it’s larger, more fuel-efficient and more practical. For a green-minded city-dweller, this Prius is hard to beat.